AMSTERDAM!

Last weekend was a long weekend for Michael (being Labor Day and all), so we took a nice little family trip. We were planning on going to Denmark to see where Michael's dad was born and meet some family members, but Michaela really HATES the car after about 15-20 minutes of driving (forgot to mention that one before when I said she is only fussy when tired). When we found out the cousins live VERY far north, we decided to postpone that trip until a time when Michael can take leave and we will have more than 4 days to do all that driving. So, at the last minute, we decided on Amsterdam instead. We drove Friday and Sunday nights (with me in the back with the baby the whole time) so that we could do most of it while baby was sleeping. It worked out pretty well with only a few minutes of crying before sleep time each way.

While we were there, we were able to see the Anne Frank House (truly amazing that they were in hiding there for over 2 years), the Van Gogh museum, another museum with a lot of Rembrandt, some hidden churches (catholicism was outlawed for awhile), lots of bicycles, a nice tour of the canals by boat (didn't know Amsterdam was the Venice of the north, did you?), and many other things. Michaela did great on all the touring through the city. She loves being outside, seeing new things, and being worn by us, so it worked out pretty well. Michael LOVES taking pictures and took over 300 over the weekend, so it was hard to choose which ones to include here, so there are many below. :)


We are about to get on the tram, which we took many times (no subway as the city is built on water).


You can see where our modern rowhouses in NYC originated.

One of the nice views from the boat.

We are in a hidden women's colony (on an island) where dogs, roosters, and human males over the age of 3 were forbidden (at one time, not anymore, obviously).

On the boat tour, we went under several bridges. Michael got this one right before or after one of the bridges. He was trying to capture Michaela's face, because whenever there is darkness suddenly, her eyes bulge.

After the first long day of hours of walking and touring, the little chicky was still smiling and happy to be back in the warm hotel room.

Urinals right out in the middle of the main square for all the drunkos who can't hold it.

LOTS of bicycles. In Thailand, we saw entire families on motorbikes, here we saw entire families on old-fashioned man-powered bikes. The wagons for the kids were awesome (in front of the bike, however, they came with a hefty pricetag...we saw a used one for sale for like 1800 euro).

You, too, could be the proud owner of a cannabis starters' kit.

Or buy as many tulip bulbs as you can carry.

A quiet, pretty canal near our hotel.

Some nice park near the Van Gogh museum.

How Michaela spent much of the walking tour...

Michael and Michaela at the Italian eatery where we had lunch. Michael had to get some Pizza Margherita, of course. :)